Understanding Radical Islam: Medieval Ideology in the Twenty-First Century

by Brian R. Farmer

In the early twenty-first century, perhaps no political ideology has become more important – yet less understood – in the Western world than Radical Islam or Islamism, the fundamentalist ideology that holds the jihad or «Holy War» against infidels as the ultimate service to God and the highest obligation of every Muslim. Understanding Radical Islam outlines and discusses the major tenets, segments, developments, problems, and contradictions surrounding Islamism and its impact on global politics in the twenty-first century. The book details the people, policies, and events associated with Islamism, as well as the cultural clashes between Islamism and the West. Understanding Radical Islam should be a major addition to any collegiate class in Middle Eastern politics, political theory, and ideology.

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Zack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won't be long, as I only have a couple of comments. What's good about this book? It's easy to read, there is a good amount of information on militant Islamism, and it is a useful example of Neo-Orientalism. What's bad about this book? Sadly, Farmer uses the "Radical Islam" platform as a launching pad for repeated tirades against the Christian Right in America. While so-called adherents to the ideology of Christian Conservatism warrant a bashing from super-Liberals like Brian Farmer, I found the tangents against Christian Fundamentalism...well...tangential to the central purpose of this book. Farmer tries to draw a comparison between Conservative Christians and "Conservative" Islamists, but ends up obfuscating the real meanings of words like Conservative, Fundamentalist, and Radical. I recommend this book only if you are either really into fiercely Liberal Academic parlance or very much aware of its shortcomings.

[Anastasia Tuple · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and rather comprehensive history of Islamism, but somewhat biased; for example, most of the citings were from one specific book, even though there were many more sources listed in the Bibliography.